Glenbard N. edges Barrington for third place
BLOOMINGTON - It was a wild finish to the Class 3A Elite Eight dual-team wrestling tournament Saturday night as 2009 runner-up Minooka and perrenial power Sandburg went down to the wire for the title.
Sandburg held a 20-12 lead with four bouts left, but Minooka (26-1) ended up raising its first state wrestling championship trophy into the air after an exciting 26-20 comeback victory over the devastated Eagles.
The third-place match in Class 3A was an exciting one as well as Glenbard North (22-8) overcame a 19-6 deficit to topple Barrington (21-4) 33-28 for third-place honors.
Glenbard North 125-pound state champ Joey Gosinski (52-0) led the boys with the blonde hair as his pin deadlocked the score at 19-19 with five bouts remaining. An 8-4 decision by Panthers 145-pounder John Salazar clinched the victory as they led 33-25 with one match to go.
"It was the goal at the beginning of the season to finish in the top three and we accomplished that goal," Gosinski said. "We're only losing three or four guys so I think we'll be really tough next year."
It was the fifth third-place finish downstate for Glenbard North to go along with two seconds and a fourth.
"None of our matches have been too easy and we had matches like this all year," said Glenbard North coach Mark Hahn, who is 492-101-2 in 23 seasons. "We're a young team so we've been behind in a lot of matches, but it seems like there is a different hero in every match."
Barrington was making its first Elite Eight trip and overall the Broncos were very competitive against some of the toughest competition in the state.
"Sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don't, and a couple of things fell through for us," said Barrington coach Mark Hahn. "Glenbard North is a tough team and even the kids who you wouldn't consider their studs are always tough."
Freshman Adrian Gonzalez continued to shine for the Broncos with a decision in the third-place match to go along with 2 pins Saturday.
"I couldn't ask for anything more even if we placed fourth I don't think we can ask for any more than that," Gonzalez said. "I think as a team I see us coming back here next year and we have a lot of sophomores and juniors who are going to step it up."
The opening round of the meet could not have been much closer for four area teams.
It was a grueling dogfight of a dual meet between Mid-Suburban power Barrington and North Suburban power Libertyville to open the day in the 9 a.m. time slot, but the Broncos took an early lead and held off a late surge by Libertyville to topple the Wildcats 31-23 and advance to the afternoon semifinals against Sandburg.
The Panthers had a quite a challenge of their own in the quarterfinals as upset-minded Leyden built a 20-9 lead after seven matches before Glenbard North bounced back strongly in the lower weights to capture a 32-29 victory.
Glenbard North 135-pounder Mario Rodriguez came through with a 5-3 overtime victory against Leyden's Andy Nguyen as Rodriguez recorded a 2-point takedown with only eight seconds left in the third period to force the extra session and ultimately give his squad a 32-23 lead with one match left. Had Rodriguez lost and the final score wound up being tied at 29-29, the Eagles would have won the tiebreaker.
"There were a couple of swing matches there and their kids did a great job of getting the bonus points and knowing how to keep matches close," said Leyden coach Jason Potter, whose team was making its first Elite Eight appearance in 24 years. "I'm extremely proud of them and I just explained to them how far our program has come. And the guys on this team are a big part of it."
Leyden state runner-up Dan Kiebler did his job again by moving up from 215 pounds to 285 pounds and picking up a 14-5 major decision over Glenbard North's Dan Buyle, but Kiebler's stellar senior season closed out with a sparkling 38-2 record.
Like Leyden, Barrington set the tone early against Libertyville as decisions by 145-pounder Dakota Wapotish and 152-pounder Luke Miller staked the Broncos to a quick 6-0 lead.
Libertyville state medalist Josh Ronne came through with a major decision at 160, but a pin by Barrington 171-pounder Dan Santoro and a decision by 189-pounder Kalvin Arqueta staked the Broncos to a 15-4 advantage early on.
The Wildcats (19-4) eventually fell behind 24-9 when Barrington 103-pound freshman sensation Adrian Gonzalez would record a pin in only 16 seconds put the Wildcats behind the eight ball with only six bouts remaining. But a huge 4-0 decision by Barrington 125-pounder Coord Wiseman proved to be crucial as the Broncos extended their lead to 27-15.
Libertyville senior state medalist Matt Bystol (43-5) nearly pinned Barrington's Joe Adreani in their 130-pound bout, but Bystol had to settle for a 19-8 major decision making the score 27-19. Then came a big 17-8 major decision by Libertyville's Sam Shay at 135 to cut the gap to 27-23 with one match left.
But for the second straight year an MSL team would end the Wildcats' season as Barrington 140-pounder Nick Shealy posted an 18-8 major decision over Kevin Tavakoli after falling behind early. Wheeling eliminated Libertyville in its own team sectional last winter.
"Barrington came ready to go and we knew that because they had a tremendous win Tuesday night (against Rockton Hononegah)," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert, who has a 436-99-2 record in 23 seasons. "I really give Barrington credit because I don't think we could have been any more prepared."
Unfortunately, the semifinals did not go well for either Barrington or Glenbard North as 2009 state-runner up Minooka posted a 30-21 victory despite a valiant comeback attempt by the Panthers. Trailing 24-18 with two bouts left, a pin by Minooka 140-pounder Jake Residori sealed Glenbard North's fate in the third-place meet. The Broncos fell behind Sandburg 32-11 after 10 matches and they could never recover in a 40-20 defeat.